Blake Medical Center is proud to announce that the Florida Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense, announced today that Jody Nader, Nursing...

Symptoms of Narcolepsy

Symptoms of
narcolepsy
usually start during the teen or young-adult years. Very few patients are younger than age 5 or older than age 50 when symptoms first occur. If you have narcolepsy, symptoms occur even if you have gotten an appropriate amount of sleep. Some people notice that their symptoms grow worse as they age. Some women notice improvement of their symptoms after
menopause
.

If you have narcolepsy, you may notice any or all of the following symptoms:

Overwhelming daytime sleepiness

Uncontrollable sleep attacks—These involuntary episodes tend to last between 3–30 minutes. They may occur periodically throughout every day, but may also be brought on by certain triggers, such as:

Warm environment

Heavy meals

Boring and/or sedentary occupations

Cataplexy—A sudden and complete loss of muscle tone and strength. Cataplexy is often brought on by:

Intense emotion, such as anger or laughter

Stress

Being tickled

Orgasm

Eating a heavy meal

Sleep paralysis—A complete or partial inability to move or speak just as sleep or a sleep attack is beginning or ending

Hallucinations—Visual images that you see vividly, though they don’t really exist. They can be very disturbing. These hallucinations may occur as sleep begins or as it ends and you are waking.

Revision Information

This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.

What is narcolepsy? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. National Institutes of Health
website. Available at:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/nar/nar%5Fwhat.html.
Updated November 1, 2010. Accessed June 3, 2013.